


The Bulwark Contingency

by t_shirt



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, mention of lemon, sap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23522566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_shirt/pseuds/t_shirt
Summary: A young warrior is summoned to aid on a quest that will change his life forever.Another older fic that I found tucked away.
Relationships: 1x2 - Relationship, 3x4, 5+2
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	The Bulwark Contingency

AU/Fantasy  
1x2, 3x4, 5+2+ or … something… maybe a little 5-1? rofl!  
Fluff, angst, sap, Mention of lemon

Summary: A young warrior is summoned to aid on a quest that will change his life forever. 

He came up out of the bed gasping for breath with his clothes drenched in sweat and a fire in his mind that threatened to consume him body and soul. The small, silver cross that lay on his chest burned so hot he gasped and tried to slap it away, but the chain around his neck held it fast. His hands grasped desperately at the sodden sheets as his lungs sucked in the cool, sweet night air, then he rummaged savagely through bedside drawers in search of something, anything he might record what little he could recall of the dream on, but the memories were already slipping away. He could never hold onto them for long and threw a drawer to splinter angrily against the wall in frustration. What had it been?! The forest…or a garden? Someone was there…waiting…no…he was working…in a circle or…DAMN! He slumped to his bedside, shivering in the dark as his damp clothes cooled and his mind slowed while he tried to retain any small nuance of the dream, but as with all the times before it had slipped away. There was nothing left but the bone cold chill of emptiness, the kind of emptiness one feels when they have been granted their heart’s desire and had it, all at once, ripped from their grasp.

“Sir Hiiro?” a tentative knock sounded at the door. “Are you all right?”

He sat for a moment, reluctant to reply to his attendant’s concern should his voice betray even a fraction of the chaos that encircled his heart before his eyes hardened and his breath stilled. 

“Faign!” he barked, already on his feet while the young boy peered warily in the door. “Ready my horse!” he commanded ignoring the child’s astonished expression while he quickly pulled on tunic and sword. 

“Is there a hunt?” Faign asked, darting in to aid his master. 

“No,” he replied allowing the child to add his dagger, coin purse and sling to his belt. 

Faign did his duties as quickly as he could, refraining from further comment as he was an intelligent child and knew when to hold his tongue. As soon as Hiiro was dressed to a point he was no longer required he darted from the room to go wake the stable master. Dawn was just beginning to lighten the sky when Hiiro descended the palace steps and strode across the dusty courtyard. Faign was busily bridling his usual mount and his saddle was already secured and equipped with leather bags that would hold the usual supplies. He spared a satisfied nod at his page earning a bright smile from the child before adding a tablet and coal to his wares, but Faign’s smile faltered and died even though he tried valiantly to maintain such a confident air as Hiiro’s when the princesses shocked cry resounded in the early morning air. 

“Hiiro!” she called, dragging her many layered skirt behind her as she rushed to his side. “Are you leaving? Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“The trip was unexpected,” he replied. 

“But…what of your duties here? Have arrangements been made…”

“Your brother is a capable man,” he reminded her, slipping Faign an extra half week’s pay before pulling himself into the saddle. 

The steed snorted and stepped anxiously back, but the princess advanced regardless with her displeasure plain to see in her sorrowful eyes. “When will you return?” she asked pleadingly. 

“That is uncertain,” he explained, feeling the metal of the cross burning hotly against his chest. His eyes flashed while Faign pulled the heavy gate open and his horse stamped his hooves in anticipation. 

“But!”

“I will send word if I am able,” he told her and left her in a whirl of gauzy skirts as he galloped past the castle wall and into the ancient trees of Katsu Jinku.

It had been some time since he traveled alone yet his heart beat restlessly denying him peace while he raced blindly down the road ahead. His usual companions, the Prince Milliardo and his attendant Otto, the infantrymen and pages that normally attended the hunts, were only just waking in the castle far behind him. Had it truly been almost a year since he came to this place? How long had it been since he stood upon the Earth as a free man? But he wasn’t free; not truthfully, he knew that. He had willingly given his pledge to serve and protect the monarchy of Sanc and knew he would return somehow, but his heart would not allow his feet to disobey the calling. 

By midmorning the sun reminded him that the road was unclear and slowed his pace. He dismounted by a small stream where his usual procession had stopped many times to water their horses and did so again. The forest quietly sang around him while the wind in the trees came to play with the sprinkles of water splashing along the stones of the stream. Small songbirds twittered their melodies and the sun bathed the picturesque clearing in warm life. He filled his lungs with the sweet air as he had so many times before and crouched to taste the clear water, but his mind refused to calm. He sighed as his hand came to draw the small, silver cross from beneath his tunic and creased his brow while he starred at its glinting surface where it twisted in the light. 

It was such a simple looking trinket that he’d thought little of it when he found it hanging from a limb three months prior during one of those long hunts Faign always got so excited about. He was drawn away by a sound, something he was unfamiliar with. The tracks of the animal were strange, first seeming like those of hoofed feet, perhaps a deer or boar, but the impression was wrong. But then they changed as if a new animal, one with the padded feet of a predator, appeared. He thought nothing of it, obviously the predator had frightened the prey away, but he was unfamiliar with this track as well. It seemed odd so he followed, but never caught a glimpse of the creature and instead came face forward upon the unimposing cross he currently clasped in his palm. His curiosity in taking the thing had been his undoing for the dreams began that night. Now, he found himself on a road with no idea where it led and nothing to guide him but a silent cross and the absent visions of a dream he couldn’t remember. 

With no sure direction and less conviction about why he came in the first place he found himself in the clearing where he had acquired the cross, helplessly searching for some clue as to its origins. He suspected it was elven made, though the simplicity of the design begged to differ. Elves were known for their intricate perfection when adorning their jewelry, weapons and armor. Sometimes the complicated beauty of the work made it seem a shame that they would use it in battle, but this piece, though exquisitely fashioned, bore no intricate lacework, no encrypted ruins or inset jewels of different colors. It was merely a simple, silver cross with a small, but adequate ring on the top to accommodate the thin, braided chain of matching silver that was fastened around the Capitan of the Guard’s neck. He sighed while he stoked the fire and sank beside it wondering once again what in the world he was doing. 

When he awoke thrashing in his blanket he knew he hadn’t been asleep for very long. The quality of the air he sucked into his lungs told him dawn was still a long way off, but his mind was screaming much too loudly to care about time. His hand clutched at his chest where the stench of smoldering leather and seared flesh stung his nostrils while he kneeled on the cold ground and tried to catch his breath. There was no fear, but then there never was; only the complete and utter despair of waking once again to find it wasn’t real. That he wasn’t real…he…he gasped and scrambled for his pack jerking his tablet and coal out to scribble down the fleeting thoughts. There was a boy…no a man…but he seemed so young. With dark hair…or was it fair? No…it was warm and enticing like cinnamon and sugar on top of freshly baked bread. But he recalled someone with fair hair as well. It was all so jumbled he growled and scratched out what he was sure was incorrect in his log only to hiss and rewrite it again. Within a moment the memories were too obscure to make any sense out of them and then, as always, they were frustratingly gone. He was left sitting quietly staring into the dying flames of his fire with nothing but his new resolve to solve the puzzle to comfort him. 

The morning brought with it no revelations. He scoured the surrounding woods twice more before deciding to go see an elderly woman who he knew had some knowledge of elven wares. It was rumored her ancestors had, at some point, added the blood of the fey to her lineage. If anyone could identify the cross as elven she could, so he set out for the east side of the forest where the mire Sumptow lay. It was half a day’s journey, leaving him to arrive at the tumble down shack near dusk. The woman was considered by many to be a witch, though Hiiro knew better as her only magical quality was the wisdom of long life for she was known to be well over a hundred years old. He hoped her knowledge would once again aid him when he dismounted and went to seek her out. 

“Bless my soul,” came a sweetly graveled voice before he had finished seeing to his mount. 

He turned to find the smiling face he was searching for beaming warmly from above a large basket of wildflowers. 

“Hello, Bertha,” he smiled, going to take the heavy basket from her. 

“Hiiro,” she grinned delightedly, then promptly asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Everything’s fine,” he assured her, chuckling while he helped her inside. “I just have a favor to ask if I may.”

“Of course,” she smiled, foregoing the seat he offered at the scrubbed table in favor of going to put on a pot for tea. He shook his head, but allowed her dignity taking the seat himself before she turned to smirk at him and commented, “But I thought surely that princess of yours had you hooked by now.”

“She is hardly my princess,” he snorted. 

“Then is it advice on matters of the heart you have come to seek from a poor, old woman?” she grinned, shuffling over to a cabinet to fetch cups and plates. 

“No,” he admitted nervously. “I have an…artifact…I would like you to look at. I’m fairly sure it is an elven craft, but there are no markings to confirm it.”

“No markings?” she inquired curiously, setting a scared cutting board filled with bread and cheese down on the table before him. “Doesn’t seem likely it would be of elven origin.”

“I know,” he confessed, drawing the cross from beneath his tunic while she poured the tea. “But it seems to have some sort of magical qualities.”

“Magic?” she exclaimed, groaning softly when she seated her weathered, old body in an adjacent chair. “Here now,” she told him, pushing the cutting board his way and holding out her hand. “Let’s have a look.”

He smiled, understanding his duty and took the cross off to give her before taking up the knife and beginning to cut the bread. He watched and waited while she turned it this way and that and her soft grunts or hummed thoughts set his nerves on end while he served the meal and awaited a verdict, then sat forward in anticipation when she opened her mouth to speak. 

“Would you mind getting me the looking glass from the pot on the third shelf?”

He sat back on a breath of air, then went to retrieve the requested item. Once in her hand the humming and grunting resumed while he nibbled at his food, sipped his tea and wished with all his might she would just hurry the hell up! Once again he felt the tension still his heart when her jaw dropped to speak. 

“Have you been plagued by dreams?” 

“Yes!” he barked excitedly, blushing madly when her aged, silver blue eyes rolled up to consider him. 

Her mouth curled slightly and a knowing glint flashed in her eyes when she asked, “And were you seduced in these dreams?”

“I…” He was shocked that he couldn’t answer the question. Had he been? Was that why he woke in a fevered sweat every night? But he was sure there hadn’t been any women in the dream, only the boy, “…don’t know,” was all he was sure of. 

“You don’t remember?” 

“They fade as quickly as I wake,” he sighed. 

“There is magic in this,” she told him, handing it back to him. 

“Then it is elven made?” 

“And bewitched,” she nodded, digging into her meal. 

“A spell?” he mused, examining the cross more closely. 

“A beckon,” she clarified. “Where did you get it?”

“I found it,” he explained. “In the woods while on a hunt.”

She paused in her drinking to peer at him over the rim of her cup then smiled and set it down. “Then I would say it is safe to assume you have been summoned.”

“By whom?”

“Whomever owns the cross.”

“Why?” he pondered curiously. 

“For whatever purpose the craftsman may have.”

He hadn’t really expected an answer, but it posed a new question he hadn’t considered. What did this person want from him so badly that he would go to such great lengths to summon him? 

“Will you stay the night?” she asked hopefully. 

“Yes, thank you,” he replied, happy for the bed and more than willing to repay her kindness with his meager company for the night. 

He still had no way of knowing where he was supposed to go so there was little reason to hurry off. The evening was spent listening to tales of old, stories of elven warriors in glorious battle, ancient yarns of days gone by, but only one that bade him commit it to memory. Bertha’s tone had softened as her voice grew tired and wan after a long night of unpracticed speech when her memories began to revolve around a time when man and elves were not so friendly as they were presently, a time when the fey were not much more than men themselves, a time before The Injunction. 

“Why?” he asked after hearing a harrowing tale that had cost the lives of thousands of men and elves alike. “What were they fighting for?”

“Life,” she chuckled wryly coughing softly while she tapped her pipe on the side of the hearth. “The old memories tell us that Elandra, the ancient queen of the fey, sought desperately for a way to retain her resplendent youth and beauty. In an act of desperation she sold the souls of man to a demon. The war was meant to reap the payment necessary to ensure her immortality.”

Hiiro sat quietly, absently stroking the cross between his fingertips. “What of the elven warriors that gave their lives?” he asked at length and glanced up when the bright, dancing flame of a match set the old woman’s pipe aglow. 

“Ahhhh,” she crooned, laughing lightly. “There is the reason our queen no longer walks the living plane. So grieved was she when she saw what her vanity had cost that she offered her own life to the demon. In return…he granted her wish to her people and the long life of the elves began.”

“But they are not immortal,” Hiiro pointed out. 

“Nee,” she agreed relaxing in the fire’s glow. “Those of good fortune may last a thousand years,” she reasoned, then laughed harshly while her aged eyes crinkled with mirth. “Perhaps one queen’s life was too small a payment for the immortality of a race.”

“You seem to be holding your own,” he grinned though his words were spoken softly as her eyes were drifting closed in the late hour. 

“My day will come,” she assured him, shifting slightly as if finding some reminiscent position that would allow her peaceful rest. 

He watched fondly while she chewed some nonexistent morsel and tucked her shawl up under her chin, but the restlessness returned to his eyes when she quietly rumbled…

“Shinigami comes for us all.” 

With her silence came sleep and with slumber came the dreams. 

_A boy walked along a hidden path with skin as pale as an ivory rose and eyes of ocean green. He wore naught but the sun in his golden hair and a white, silken mawashi. There was confusion over the traditional warrior’s garb wrapped so tenderly around such a frail, beautiful body, but all was suddenly understood when a man quickly attacked from the shadow of a bush._

_The boy moved so fast it was hard to comprehend what happened until the man lay wheezing on the grass, but the boy paid him no mind and resumed his path. A short distance further two more men lurched from the shadows only to fall to the same fate while the fair child fought his way toward his goal. No sooner had the second man hit the ground than more assailants appeared, but they proved no match for the child as he cut through the crowd where his thin body twisted in impossible ways while his lightening fast hands brought down blows that soon left him standing alone in the garden with his chest rising and falling evenly while his eyes glistened in the light of a pristine fountain springing from the center of a circle of stones._

_Before the fountain stood a mountain of a man where his black eyes glared accusingly, but the child refused to yield. The man’s eyes hardened while his feet set firm and his arms came up to guard against the child’s passing, but the boy only creased his brow and charged. For a moment they bore down on each other until suddenly there was another, one so impossibly beautiful it was unclear if he were truly of the Earth or had come down from the sky, but he stepped between the warring two and suddenly the very fabric of reality began to crumble and fade. The dream had shifted into a sea of darkness, but he was not afraid. His heart beat madly, not in trepidation, but enthralling anticipation. His mind remembered, his body yearned and his hands reached for that which he knew would come._

_“Why haven’t you come?” asked the sweet voice that brought pin prickle shivers to his skin._

_“I don’t know the way,” he replied, drawing a long, deep breath when his hand closed around the warmth of another._

_“I’m waiting,” the angel sighed, allowing him the thrill of a slow embrace._

_“How can I find you?” he asked, breathing deeply of the intoxicating scent that surrounded the sublime creature._

_“You will find me,” he replied as he kissed him softly and his mouth slowly devoured his will while a fire flared in his stomach so hot he clutched at the slender body that was irretrievably slipping away._

_“Please,” he begged wishing with all his heart while he stared into smiling violet eyes, but he kept drifting away until all that was left were the words echoing in his ears._

_“You will find me. You need only follow your heart.”_

He gasped so loudly when he came out of his chair that Bertha woke and screamed out loud, but he had no sympathy to spare her as his legs gave way and he crumbled to the floor coughing and snatching at elusive breaths until frustration bit hard and he growled right out loud to ease the pain. Bertha looked as if she’d seen a demon once he regained control, but her expression swiftly changed from fearful to pure determination when his eyes reflected himself and he gasped softly when her palm slapped against his brow. The memories were already fading even though he fought desperately to retain them, but a sudden, desperate glimmer of hope sparked in his mind when the sifting of thoughts began to slow. 

“What did you see?” she demanded as her old eyes flashed insanely in the firelight. 

“A garden,” he gasped. “And a boy of fair hair…”

“What else?!” she snapped hastily and he clamped his eyes shut in an effort to hold onto the memories. 

“He fought men of dark skin…and…”

“There was another,” she finished for him, but her strength had reached its limit and she suddenly slumped back taking the rest of the memories with her. 

“No!” he barked, diving for her hand, but it only lay lax in his while she rasped for breath. “Bertha?” he called gently, rubbing her palm. 

He had thought her devoid of any sort of magic, but that was obviously not true, though what little she possessed was apparently easily spent. He had made fresh tea and brought extra blankets before she recovered enough to speak readily to him. 

“Do you remember?” she asked when he returned to his chair. 

“I remember a garden,” he confessed, but was unable to keep the disappointment from his tone. 

“And the boy?” 

“I don’t know who he was,” he sighed. “But he was as pale as oleander and just as deadly.”

“Was there a fountain in this garden?” she asked. 

“Yes,” he replied curiously. “You know it?”

Her laugh was warm and tolerant and she made him wait while she took a long draw from her tea before she replied. “It is Elision.”

His eyes widened in comprehension while the revelation fell from his lips. 

“The Life Spring.” 

His thoughts revolved around what little remained of his memories of the dream and the pale child warrior and his determination to reach the spring as the words of the tale of the Injunction danced in his mind when he asked. “Does it truly exist?”

“Deep in the south some say,” she nodded. “Though no one has ever returned from there to make a claim.”

When the morning sun brightened the sky Hiiro was already in the saddle and prepared to leave. Bertha stood with her gnarled cane at the door of her ramshackle hut to bid him goodbye, but cocked her gray haired head when he turned his nose to the west. 

“Will you not go to the garden?” she asked. 

“If that is where the road leads,” he smiled.

“But,” she replied in confusion. “It lies…to the south.”

“Hai,” he nodded, spurring his steed forward. “But my heart leads west.”

She chuckled while she watched him go and shook her head commenting quietly, “Perhaps your heart remembers what your mind is not yet ready to embrace.”

The woods seemed oddly quiet during his journey though his mind was clouded so deeply in thought it didn’t really surprise him when he was startled by a passing sparrow. He laughed at his own inattention and wiped the dampness of the afternoon sun from his brow. The warmth had slowly crept inside his clothes, lulling his mind and body into faux dreams of young men, mystical fountains and someone with bright, violet eyes. It was the eyes his mind kept coming back to. Eyes so clear his heart ached to explore their depths. Eyes his feet were sure lay somewhere down this lonely road to the west, but a disgruntled snort from his mount reminded him they hadn’t stopped to refresh themselves in some time. The sound brought his senses back to clarity and he realized his steed’s ill manner was due to the scent of a stream in the air. 

It felt good to have both feet on the ground and he stretched out the kinks in his lower back and legs while his horse drank. It was a strange place, thick with yearling oaks that he was not familiar with. Absently, he tried to place where the stream might come from thinking it was perhaps a tributary of the river Soux that lay to the north, but the water was sweet and clear like that of a fresh spring. There was a small fall upstream some way that bubbled merrily while the birds sang and he decided this might be a good place to take his dinner and rest for a time, so with a meager portion of flat bread and dried beef, his tablet and coal he settled himself among the roots of a mother oak and began to sketch. 

He drew the spring in the garden and the hardened expression of the towering man that had protected it. He drew thick rose bushes though he couldn’t recall if there had truly been any in the dream and spent a good amount of time trying to capture those elusive eyes that teased at the corners of his memory, but frustration won out in the end and as he set the tablet aside in disgust he suddenly realized just how very quiet it was. The birds had ceased their twittering melodies, his mount stood deathly still as if straining to listen to sounds that did not come and his pulse doubled when warnings went off in his head that something was amiss. 

His hand slowly grasped the hilt of his sword, drawing it silently while he stood and his eyes, ears and warrior’s sense were acutely attuned to the world around him, but nothing justified the dangerous feeling of the woods. He was being watched; he was certain of it, but by whom or even what was unclear. Bandits were not uncommon in the darker parts of the forest and predators wandered wherever they wished, but something was telling him he was facing something much more dangerous than a band of robbers or pack of wolves. His eyes searched the brush, finding nothing until he became suddenly aware of the growing warmth lying against his chest. When he withdrew the cross, the silver shone much brighter than it should have in the afternoon sunlight and when he brushed it with his fingertip his skin hissed and burned from the touch. 

His gaze returned to the brush while he turned his back to the trunk of the ancient oak, taking the smoldering cross off to twine around the hilt of his sword. His horse snorted and though the sound seemed less than alarmed it still tensed his muscles so that when something suddenly tickled along the back of his neck he whirled and struck, but his blade found nothing but tree trunk while his eyes starred at the tufted end of a dangling, chestnut braid. The other end of the long rope of hair was attached to the base of the neck of an elf who was hanging upside down from a limb before him with his bow in hand and a cocky grin on his face.

“Try again?” the elf smirked before head butting him so hard his vision exploded in stars and before he could clear them to properly see again he was gone. 

A moment later he dropped down behind him and slapped him on the ass whereupon Hiiro spun, narrowly missing taking his head off when he rolled away. 

“You’re quick!” the spindly creature praised amusedly, but Hiiro had had enough of his game and advanced with a determination to end it. 

The battle was quick pitting sheer power and calculated blows against clever speed and chaotic retaliation. Hiiro’s frustration over not being able to land a hit was wearing his patience thin when the elf made a fatal error in judgment, leaning this way when he should have leapt that. There was no wasted time, no flamboyant movement, just the cool, smooth action necessary to win the battle and end the upstart’s life, but the blow never landed. He meant to strike, but his blade stopped less than an inch from the elf’s flashing throat when he was suddenly captivated by his wide, violet eyes. 

He had only a moment to gaze into them as his heart thundered with the knowledge that he had somehow found what he sought, that this was the reason for his journey and the answer to the emptiness inside him. He had only a moment to see the quiet satisfaction in those beautiful eyes before a beast burst from the brush and slammed into his chest. 

“NO!” the elf screamed, launching himself at them while they tumbled, growling savagely at one another as Hiiro rolled hard, using the monster’s weight to throw it off and slam it into a tree giving him time to find his feet before it readied for a second attack. 

“Stop it!” the elf shouted angrily while a huge tiger gnashed its teeth and growled low as it circled. 

Hiiro found his center, crouching low, and moved his body between the enormous cat and the elf, but his long haired opponent wasn’t having any of it. Hiiro meant to protect him from the beast, but as soon as the tiger leaped forward the elf stepped in taking the full brunt of the assault and slamming into the ground under the great cat’s weight.

“NO!” Hiiro growled, raising his blade only to pause when the elf shouted. 

“DON’T! Damn it! Get off me ya big fur ball!!” 

Hiiro stepped back when the cat retreated, looking for all the world like a whipped pup while the elf pulled himself to his feet. 

“When in the hell did you get wet?!” the elf growled, wiping clumps of sticky, wet fur from his chin. “Do you have any idea how freaking gross that is! Geez!”

“Fool,” the tiger growled petulantly and Hiiro dropped his sword. “He could have killed you.”

“Yeah,” he grinned unrepentantly, turning the full force of his smile on Hiiro when he surmised, “But he didn’t.”

There was a moment when their gazes connected that Hiiro forgot the talking tiger, the woods and the world in general. An instant when heat pulsed inside him and some far away memory made him want nothing more than to take this creature by the hand and run away, far away where there was nothing and no one but each other, and the Earth…and the moon…

“Libertine,” the tiger grumbled. “The Oracle will be not be pleased with your methods of…”

“I’m Duo,” the elf cut in, smiling brightly while he offered his hand. 

“Why am I here?” Hiiro asked abruptly. 

Duo stilled, seeming disappointed for which Hiiro was sorry, but his senses were scrambled being in the company of a talking tiger that should be trying to eat them and an elf he wasn’t entirely sure didn’t want to slit his throat the moment he turned his back. 

“You are the hero we seek,” Duo smiled. 

“How did you know my name?” Hiiro questioned warily, but Duo only smiled wider and laughed. 

“Are you serious?” he asked, chuckling heartily. “You’re name is…Hiiro?”

It took him longer to put it together than for the blush to take over his face when he realized his blunder. 

“Why do you need a hero?” he asked, trying very hard to ignore the continued snickering and the odd feeling it gave him to hear a tiger laughing at him. 

“Several motivations come to mind,” Duo chuckled and Hiiro suddenly found it impossible to stay angry when he was asked, “Shall we explore them together?”

He was uncertain, uncomfortable and wary, but it seemed a shame to have come this far and not see it through. He chose to lead his mount who appeared unreasonably calm about being in the company of a tiger while Duo glided along the path beside him. His eyes kept straying to the lithe elf while his mind examined the small differences between them. Duo’s ears were elongated as was common of his kin and his legs were long and thin making him seem a little taller than he actually was. Hiiro straightened his back to gauge the difference in their height only to find himself looking up at his companion when Duo grinned and straightened his as well. Hiiro felt a smile tug at his lips and let the playful feeling in his gut take control for a moment, lengthening his stride while he pulled himself to his full height, but Duo bested him by an inch when he did the same. Hiiro was fully prepared to pout when he happen to notice that Duo was walking on the tips of his toes and the elf burst out laughing, stumbling merrily ahead while Hiiro mock glared at him. 

“A clever rival needs neither size nor strength to be victorious,” the elf grinned. 

“Victory is only truly achieved when one can embrace a rival as a friend,” Hiiro countered, brightening Duo’s smile tenfold and the tiger suddenly snorted and disappeared into the brush. 

Duo spared it an annoyed roll of his eyes before turning his attention back to his companion. 

“Will you tell me why I was summoned?” Hiiro asked at length. 

“I’m afraid I can say only that the Oracle bade me summon you.”

“Then you were the one who called.”

Duo smiled sideways at him and Hiiro felt a strange flutter in his chest when a soft mantle colored the elf’s cheeks. “You remember?”

“I remember your eyes,” Hiiro confessed and though he felt the heat in his cheeks he wasn’t really sure why it was there. “Why?” he asked curiously when Duo seemed flustered by the comment. 

“It is…uncommon,” he explained.

“I wasn’t supposed to remember?” Hiiro smiled. 

“No,” Duo chuckled, leading them through a thicket that seemed much denser than it really was, but his steps stilled when Hiiro turned to him and gently touched his forearm. 

“I remember your eyes,” he reiterated. “But there was more.” His gaze sought the truth in those wide, violet eyes and his chest tightened when he saw the quickening of breath in Duo’s chest. “What more?” he asked gently, though his heart yearned for an answer to the riddle of the dream. 

Duo smiled, swallowed and averted his eyes while he took a step back and Hiiro was preparing to grasp his arm and demand an answer when he swept aside a stand of tall grass to reveal a beautiful valley set afire by the setting sun. 

“Elendor,” he replied while Hiiro’s eyes grew wide. 

He had thought the valley lay somewhere to the south, perhaps where the Garden of Life was rumored to be. Never had he expected to find it right under his nose. The land changed instantly from sparse forest shrubs to rich, thick brush and trees so old he could feel them watching as they passed. The orange light of the sun set the grass aglow and made the canopy shimmer with rippling illuminations that made it almost impossible to see the phoenix until it cried out and swooped down upon them. His first inclination was to draw his sword, but Duo’s greeting stayed his hand. 

“Go screech at the sun if that’s all you’re good for!” he scolded while the huge, fiery bird flapped fluently above them and unleashed its harsh cry again. “A nightingale’s song would be too much to ask!?” Duo bellowed while the creature turned and flew away. “He’s watching you ungrateful crow! Show a little respect!”

Hiiro tensed when the mystical bird let fly a thick column of fire and circled back shouting, “Hai! As he has been watching you all along!” before rocketing skyward. 

Hiiro paused in momentary contemplation, trying to recall if any of the phoenix tales he had heard depicted them as having the power of human speech until he caught a glimpse of Duo’s bright red face just before he turned away and loped down the hill. 

“This way!” the elf called and Hiiro prodded his horse into a trot behind him to keep up. 

There was a garden, but not the one he remembered from the dream, then a long path lined in tall, slender trees. A round-about was set in the earth before a wide circular stair of white marble that led to a dais above them. Evening lamps were already cradling flames that cast dancing light over the scene and Hiiro slowed when he approached, seeing Duo standing quietly on the bottom stair where his presence was a perfect complement to the surrounding beauty of the coming night. 

“Come.”

It wasn’t Duo who spoke, but his mouth curled into a soft smile while he held out his hand in invitation. Hiiro glanced up the stairs, knowing by instinct alone that the request originated at their apex, then took Duo’s hand and climbed the steps with him side by side. He thought it odd at first that the elf did not release his hand, but the warmth was comforting so he was grateful for it. He was mildly shocked if not pleased when they put the last of the steps behind them and his eyes lighted upon a familiar face. The blond boy seated in the center of the dais on a long, cushioned couch was the warrior child in his dream. 

“Welcome,” he smiled warmly and for the first time Hiiro noticed another seated with him as his long body was tucked in behind him and his arm nestled under him in a most intimate way that both shocked and excited Hiiro at the same time for the second was obviously an elf. 

It was common knowledge that elves did not care for human mates as they knew they would loose them in less than a tenth of their own lifespan, yet there before him were two of different races that had chosen to defy that contingency. The fact that they were both male was an afterthought compared to the enormity of this revelation. 

“You are the Oracle,” Hiiro surmised. 

“My name is Quatre,” he nodded, seemingly pleased with Hiiro’s insight while he waved his hand in invitation for his guests to sit. “I must apologize for the method in which you were brought here,” he began. “It was not our intention to deceive you,” he said giving Duo a scolding glance. 

Hiiro’s eyes also sought the long haired elf while his brow knit cautiously. “You are in need of my help?” he asked. 

“Yes.”

“Then I’m afraid I don’t understand. How was I deceived?” Hiiro asked looking to Duo for an answer. 

“I hear you, you mangy beast,” Duo grinned, turning to greet a large, black wolf when it strolled from the shadows. 

“That hardly answers his question,” the wolf smiled. 

“The real question being why we went to all this trouble to call him here,” Duo evaded. 

“Quite right,” Quatre agreed while his companion leaned close to whisper something in his ear. “You are correct. We are in need of your aid.”

“I’m listening,” Hiiro replied, but his unease toward Duo was evident in the way he kept stealing glances at him. 

“Listen well,” the wolf advised in a low growl. “For the value of your life may be weighed this night.”

“Wufei,” Quatre sighed impatiently. 

“He is human,” the wolf complained. 

“So am I,” he reminded him. 

“It would be sacrilege.” 

“Honor your vow.”

“Trowa?” Quatre whispered turning to face his companion as if shocked that he had spoken aloud, but he only tilted his head gently brushing their temples together while his one visible eye regarded the scowling wolf. 

Without another word the canine began to shift and change until a young man of exotic design stood in its place, his eyes no less severe for the transformation and something suddenly snapped in Hiiro’s mind. 

“Changeling,” he said, recognizing both the tiger and the phoenix in him. 

“Why anyone would want to be smelly and covered in fur is beyond me,” Duo grumbled. 

“It has its perks,” Wufei grinned, proceeding to lick his eyebrows to demonstrate and Duo burst out laughing. 

“Enough,” Quatre sighed. “We are all here, just as the vision proclaimed.”

“What has this vision to do with me?” Hiiro asked. 

“There is a task I must complete,” Quatre sighed, laying a comforting hand on his lover’s thigh when he moved in closer. “It has been shown to me that you are the one who can ensure my success.”

“There is a faction that plots to kidnap and return him to his homeland,” Wufei explained, taking a very protective stance near his couch. 

“We need you to help protect him and see that he reaches his goal,” Duo added solemnly. 

Hiiro thought for a moment while his eyes narrowed when he recalled, “A huge man with black eyes.”

“Rashid,” Quatre confirmed sadly. “He is the leader of the Maguanac’s.”

“I saw him in a dream,” Hiiro explained. “You fought him as well as many others.”

“What you saw was a representation of the situation,” Quatre explained, turning his head as if to hide his eyes when he added quietly, “I cannot fight them.”

“That’s why we need you!” Duo chirped springing to his feet. “Our journey begins tomorrow so you should get some sleep.”

“I haven’t agreed to help yet.”

“You’re still here,” he waved him off, draping an arm around the indignant changeling’s shoulders. “That’s good enough. Come on, we’ll show you a place where you can rest.”

“Do it yourself,” Wufei growled, throwing him off before stalking away. 

“If I must,” Duo grinned expectantly and Hiiro tossed a defeated glance at Quatre before finally giving in. 

He was led through another garden that opened into an intricate maze of paths and the shrubs and flowerbeds soon gave way to small buildings where Duo stopped briefly to fill his pockets with sweet bread and cheese, a bottle of wine and flask of water, then called a keeper to tend Hiiro’s horse before showing him inside what looked very much like a curtain of mossy roots. On the other side was a cozy living room complete with a crackling fire where a large, fluffy couch sat patiently waiting. Duo saw to the meal and settled them in either end of the couch while he went on about the valley, its history and how humans had pretty much butchered the reality of it throughout the years as generation after generation added to or forgot the details of the tales and his ramblings soon prompted Hiiro to ask the obvious question. 

“How old are you?”

Duo grinned widely and replied with a question of his own. “Want to guess?”

“I would say older than my shoes,” Hiiro smirked, chewing a piece of cheese while Duo snorted. 

“You would be correct,” he chuckled. “You seem well skilled for one so young,” he observed. 

“The sword comes naturally to me.”

“Is that all that comes naturally to you?” 

Hiiro looked up curiously at the change in Duo’s tone to find him smiling in an entirely different way that sort of made his thighs ache. 

“I’m told I am…quite good with…numbers. What’re you doing?” he asked nervously when Duo rolled up and was suddenly hovering so near he could smell the wine on his breath. 

“Perhaps you should expand your perception,” Duo smiled, curling into him to lie smoothly along his chest while his legs slid unerringly over his thighs and suddenly he felt as if his entire insides had been set on fire. 

“Are you…offering yourself as a means?” he stammered, trying to maintain an even breath. 

“It could be arranged,” Duo grinned then kissed him so sweetly he knew he would drown on his own fluids if he didn’t break free. 

“Is that allowed?” he gasped, shaking his head in an effort to clear his mind. 

“It’s not like it’s any of their business,” Duo snipped, loosing some of his vigor. 

“I thought elves didn’t care for human lovers?” Hiiro persisted, glad to have a moment to collect his smoldering thoughts, but then suddenly Duo was gone and he was left choking on that sickening feeling of having lost his grip on something mortally indispensable again. 

“Well, it’s not like I wanted to pick out curtains or something,” he snipped, already donning his cloak. 

“Wait…”

“We rise before dawn,” he reminded him and Hiiro suddenly found himself utterly alone and in need of a seltzer for his churning stomach. 

What happened? He shook his head and tried to make sense of it. A guy made a pass at him. No, an elf; not a normal man. Was that a common practice within the race? He’d never known an elf to ask one before. Trowa was obviously involved with Quatre, so he knew it wasn’t taboo, or at least he hoped not. Or…no…that wasn’t it. Was it? Damn, but that kiss was so sweet. Was it merely because it was his first? He didn’t think so because the heat in his groin seemed to indicate otherwise, but he’d never been attracted to man before. But Duo wasn’t a man; not really, he was an elf. But he was still male with all the things that that implied. But, damn, his body felt so warm and inviting and the way he’d spread his legs…NO! It couldn’t be! He was a human, damn it! How could he live knowing his lover would have to go on for how many hundreds of years after his death? That thought brought with it an entire volume of new questions he wasn’t anywhere near ready to address, so he forced his mind to quiet and decided that perhaps it had been nothing more than exactly what it seemed; a playful elf with an appetite for human men. He wouldn’t lose his heart to such a creature, how could he possibly know what it felt like to have only eighty years to love? 

He’d probably done this before with any number of human lovers. 

The couch was warm and soft, but he couldn’t get comfortable. 

How many times?

He slapped the pillows, but they refused to grant him peace. 

With whom?

Stupid fire was too hot.

Women as well as men?

The ceiling seemed to mock him. 

Was he nothing more than a potential playmate? 

The night was sorrowfully silent. 

Was there no place in Duo’s heart for more?

The crackling of the fire began to fade. 

What color would the curtains be?

Morning dawned without the torment of dreams, but he opened his eyes feeling strangely deprived. As Duo had promised the others were already working busily in their preparations to leave, but he didn’t see the long haired elf anywhere. A small boy with eyes that betrayed his youthful appearance had come to aid him, supplying both he and his horse while his companions did the same. Duo was still absent when they mounted with Trowa behind Quatre on a huge war horse adorned in light armor and he on his usual mount and he feared for a moment the elf would decline to accompany them, but his mind relaxed when he saw him stroll into their midst, though his brow knitted crossly when Wufei turned up right on his heals. 

“We’re set for the road?” Duo smiled brightly. 

“All except you,” Quatre replied tolerantly. “Where have you been? We should have begun half an hour ago.”

“Is it my fault he insists on sleeping in a tree?” Duo exclaimed.

“Hai,” Wufei grinned unrepentantly, tossing a glance at Hiiro when he added, “I’m afraid I was entirely to blame.”

Hiiro’s brow creased tighter while an unhappy feeling banded around his bowels. 

“Then you can repent by hastening my duties,” Duo grinned demonically, waving him forward.

“You can’t be serious,” Wufei exclaimed in mock horror, but did as he was bid and stepped forward. 

“We have time to make up,” he reminded him urging him on. “Something swift.”

Hiiro rose from his saddle to stand in the stirrups while a protest rose in his throat when the changeling wavered and shifted and offered his stag’s back to Duo, but became acutely aware that the elf had not so much as looked at him since his arrival when Duo hopped aboard and they sped away. 

“Follow the southern road!” Duo shouted and then they were gone. 

“Who is he?” Hiiro demanded while he glared at the spot where they had vanished. 

“A…cousin,” Quatre sighed, allowing Trowa to guide their mount forward while he added a quiet…

“A very distant cousin.”

In what seemed a remarkably short time the valley began to level off, the foliage to thin and the forest took on a familiar feeling once more. Trowa stayed close to his lover, keeping him well hidden from prying eyes with his arms wrapped tightly around him and Hiiro tried not to notice when they whispered softly to one another or stole soft kisses when they thought he couldn’t see. He had moved ahead of them in an attempt to grant them a little more privacy as they were apparently having trouble keeping their darker desires under control when he noticed that the trail Duo and Wufei had left for them to follow was becoming more pronounced. Knowing it had to mean they were nearby he spurred his mount forward toward the scent of a stream and his gut tightened in anticipation of what he might find, but when he emerged from the trees into a small clearing he found only Duo drinking from the babbling brook. 

He was unreasonably annoyed. 

“Where’s Wufei?”

“Doing his job,” Duo replied curtly, standing to draw one of the silver knives that were strapped to his thighs. 

Hiiro’s eyes glanced at the glinting blade before he dismounted and asked indignantly. “Does his job often include your riding him bareback?”

“That is none of your concern!” Duo snapped, twirling the knife so quickly before sheathing it Hiiro barely saw it happen, but he displayed no wonder over the skill. 

“Perhaps your behavior last night would be of concern to him?!” Hiiro retorted, but Duo’s eyes only calmed while his tone dropped to an even thread. 

“Certainly of more interest than you have in me.”

“HIIRO!”

The sound of Quatre’s frantic cry had Hiiro back on his horse and Duo diving into the trees before the great war horse the blond and his lover were riding barreled through the clearing. Hiiro reined in, understanding the danger lie behind while they thundered through the stream and five men on horseback burst through the brush just as Wufei in the form of a the huge phoenix swooped from the sky. Hiiro drew his sword and faced the enemy head on, but each time he struck the victim would fall or trip or loose his seat and tumble to the ground until he realized it was Duo who was thwarting his attempts to win the battle. 

“What in the hell are you doing!?!” he bellowed, swinging his blade wide to keep from being thrashed by the surrounding men. 

“You can’t kill them!” Duo shouted. 

“It would have been nice if someone would have mentioned that!!”

“I just did!” Duo quipped, shin snipping another of the horses and grinning when its rider flew off into the bushes. 

Meanwhile, Wufei had managed to get his claws into several of them, taking them high above the fight and dropping them one by one into the river. Hiiro finally understood and switched from trying to behead his foes to simply disarming them while Duo utterly humiliated many by cutting draw strings on breeches, causing them to slam into one another while he dodged and even mooning one, then laughing uproariously when he smacked his head into a tree branch knocking himself senseless. The fray was over much faster than Hiiro would have liked as he was quite enjoying himself, but the enemy decided to retreat and save what was left of their dignity. Hiiro laughed, leaning back into Duo’s shoulder while he teased the remnants of their attackers off the field. 

“You’re a hundred years too early to best us!” Duo chuckled airily while the adrenaline pumped heavily through his veins. 

“If that’s the best they’ve got you’ll hardly need me,” Hiiro laughed. 

“I think you scared a couple of them out of their first born,” Duo giggled, turning to face him. 

“They wouldn’t have had the chance to have children if you hadn’t stopped me,” Hiiro smiled, but upon seeing the firelight that sparkled in Duo’s eyes the smile faded and the long haired elf suddenly frowned and took a step back when he saw the pure determination in Hiiro’s eyes. 

He wanted to say something to him, though he had no idea what and before he could articulate anything that seemed halfway intelligent a thick column of fire scorched the ground right beside them. 

“Damn it, Wufei!” Duo shouted at the retreating phoenix. 

“Well done,” Quatre praised while Trowa trotted them into the clearing. 

“You should have told me these men were your friends,” Hiiro scolded without hesitation. “I might have killed any one of them.”

Quatre looked suitably horrified for a moment before smiling his apology. “Forgive me. I suppose it never crossed my mind that you would be willing to go that far.”

“I have accepted the duty of your protection,” Hiiro reminded him. “I will do whatever is necessary to fulfill that contract.”

“Then perhaps you would be so kind as to find us a safe place to lunch,” Quatre smiled. “I fear if we don’t eat soon I might die of hunger.”

Duo laughed while Hiiro grinned and Quatre took a long, deep breath when Trowa leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. The intimacy between the couple was becoming uncomfortable while they coddled and caressed each other more and more openly as the journey wore on. By the time Hiiro was satisfied that they had put enough ground behind them to warrant a safe stop to eat they were locked in an embrace slowly kissing each other. It was obvious he wasn’t the only one the behavior bothered as Wufei had joined them, choosing to walk as a man by Duo’s side, but neither he nor the elf said a word about the growing affection in their companions. 

“We can stop here to eat,” Hiiro finally said, more to break up the make out session than out of hunger. 

“Trowa?” Quatre breathed, but he only kissed him and turned his body more so that he could take him in his arms while they continued to ride right on through the clearing and into the woods beyond. 

“You shouldn’t wander off alone!” Hiiro advised, turning to Duo for support only to find both he and Wufei moving off in separate directions. “Where are you going?”

“Keep a sharp eye,” Wufei instructed flanking the blond and his lover on the east. 

“They’ll be a while,” Duo smiled moving off to the west. 

Were they insane? Did they actually expect him to stand there and guard the couple’s fornication? It seemed so as they disappeared, fully intent on doing just that. It was the strangest adventure he had ever been on, but he’d given his word so he hunkered down and did his job. Blessedly, nothing happened during the time the couple was…busy, which left him time to build a fire and heat some of the wrapped fish and bread before Wufei reappeared. 

“Are they…returning?” Hiiro asked thinking hard about his wording. 

“Momentarily,” Wufei smirked, helping himself to a roll of fish. 

“You eat meat?” It seemed odd considering. 

“All creatures must survive,” he replied. 

“Then you’re more human than beast,” Hiiro surmised. 

“I am not…human,” Wufei informed him distastefully. 

“You appear to value similar things.”

The changeling smiled knowingly and blinked some hidden set of eyelids that moved sideways over his black iris’s while he replied, “Some things are easily cherished.”

“You are so full of shit,” Duo commented, dropping from a limb overhead. 

“And you are not half as cleaver as you think,” Wufei grinned. “I scented you five minutes ago.”

“Maybe it wasn’t you I was attempting to observe.”

Hiiro’s head snapped up, but before his question could be spoken Trowa and Quatre stepped into view. They were just as intimately connected as before their foray into the brush, but each wore the satisfied glow of rapture achieved and Hiiro blushed just to look at them when they wandered almost unknowingly into the clearing. Trowa had tended their mount and proceeded to ensconce his lover in a thick pile of blankets he’d taken from one of the saddlebags before fetching him food and drink and all but hand feeding him his lunch. Duo and Wufei did their best to completely ignore the odd behavior, but Hiiro couldn’t help stealing glances while they nibbled each others fingertips and stole brief kisses between bites. 

“Want to help me refill the canteens?” Duo suddenly asked, getting up with three half full ones in his hands. 

Hiiro started to decline as it wasn’t really necessary, though the expression in Duo’s eyes revealed the trip wasn’t really to quench his thirst, but the elf waited until they were a good distance from the others before he spoke. 

“You really shouldn’t stare,” he chuckled. 

“Was I?” Hiiro gasped softly; truly unaware he had been that obvious. 

“Just a little,” Duo shrugged. “Don’t begrudge them their indulgences,” he advised and his tone sounded wispy and frail when he added, “They have so little time.”

“But Quatre seems so young,” Hiiro countered, glancing back in confusion. 

Duo paused, seeming very sad all of a sudden and when he spoke all the humor had bled from his usually bright tone when he proclaimed, “They will not survive.”

“I won’t let him die.” The promise brought the smile back to Duo’s lips, but it was a tolerant expression that held no real faith in the claim. “They should have a number of years together,” Hiiro assured him. 

Again Duo smiled, but there was little of his usual light in it. “Years,” he snorted softly while they stopped by a trickling creek. “We judge the passing of time by decades,” he commented, bending to fill the canteens. 

“They’re so in love,” Hiiro commented, gazing back toward their companions. “How will Trowa cope after he…?”

Duo stood, capping off the container before looking him straight in the eye and explaining, “He will die with him.”

“Suicide?” Hiiro gasped softly. 

“Personal choice.”

The silence grew between them until Hiiro could no longer contain the question dancing on his tongue. “Is that a common practice?”

“No,” he replied. “Giving one’s heart to a human is a foolish endeavor we elves avoid at all costs.”

“Then why?” Hiiro blurted, stepping forward. 

“Don’t,” Duo gasped, moving back. 

“Was it just a game?” The pain that shone in his eyes flustered the elf to the point he almost stepped into the creek. 

“What difference would it make?” Duo snipped anxiously. “Your rejection was easily understood.”

“Rejecti…” Hiiro began shaking his head in disbelief. “Rejection?” he repeated, nodding while Duo starred cautiously as if ready to bolt. “How could I possibly have taken you seriously?” he asked. “Why would you even consider such a relationship with a man who won’t live one tenth as long as you?”

“I tried to reason that out myself,” Duo shrugged meekly, seeming embarrassed by the confession. “But when you came…”

“I still have your cross,” Hiiro reminded him, stepping closer yet. 

“I know,” he breathed softly. 

“You’re a man,” Hiiro commented, drinking in the soft mantle that had risen to Duo’s checks. 

“Yes.”

“And an elf.”

“Undeniable.”

Hiiro leaned forward and his hands came to touch the sides of Duo’s face and his eyes drifted lazily closed while he breathed deeply of his scent and soaked in the erotic energy that pulsed in his flesh as he asked, “Then why can’t I stop?”

Duo hissed loudly while the canteens clattered to the ground when Hiiro’s mouth enveloped his. Soft moans of deepest pleasure escaped his throat, begging the warrior to deepen the connection and soon his long arms came to embrace his strong body. When Hiiro felt his surrender something base and ferocious broke loose in his crawl and he gathered him close, using his entire body to hopelessly intoxicate the slender elf until quite suddenly there came a vicious roar and they both jumped as Hiiro automatically tucked Duo behind him while he drew his sword and faced an enormous lion. 

“Back off, Wufei!” Duo shouted, but the changeling paid him no heed, circling with amber eyes set on Hiiro’s throat. 

“I will make you stop,” he growled, darting in, but hissing and spitting when he was forced to retreat to keep from being sliced open by Hiiro’s blade. 

“It’s too late!” Duo shouted. 

“I won’t let him take you!” the lion roared, lunging again, but Hiiro pivoted and dumped him in the stream.

“If you love him then honor his choice!” Hiiro reasoned, backing cautiously away while Wufei pulled himself from the creek. 

“Love?” Wufei laughed. “What do you know of love?” he snarled, swatting at his enemies blade. 

“I know!” Duo yelled determinedly. 

“NO!” the lion rasped in utter denial. “I will not watch you die for the sake of a human’s heart!”

“Kill him and my heart will have already ceased to beat!”

Wufei stilled instantly, turning his huge head to stare blankly at the stubborn set of Duo’s jaw and Hiiro dropped his sword. 

“Do you mean that?” the warrior asked reverently. 

“I…” Duo began, glancing uncertainly at Wufei while he repeated as kindly as he could manage. “It’s already too late.”

“Duo…please,” Wufei begged, changing from lion to his human form in less than the few steps it took to bring him to his side. “Consider what you’re saying…”

“I was lost the first time my mind touched his,” Duo confessed in a tone full of compassion and apology, but Wufei looked utterly devastated regardless of his attempts. “Wufei…I’m sorry…Wufei!”

But the cry fell on deaf ears when the changeling shifted into his phoenix form and fled. 

“Duo?” The elf watched until the firebird was nothing but a speck in the sky before he finally sighed. “Will he be okay?” Hiiro asked, going to his side. 

“I don’t know,” Duo admitted. “He’s lost so much in his life.”

“Is there no one else?” Hiiro asked, feeling saddened by Duo’s loss. 

“He is neither human nor elf,” Duo explained. “Not even I can comprehend how many loved ones he has seen returned to the Earth.”

Hiiro gazed into the sky and wondered about a creature so ancient not even an elf could comprehend its origins. 

“I’m sorry for his pain,” he offered, laying his hands on Duo’s shoulders. 

“When the time comes…he will heal,” Duo sighed, turning in his arms. “As he has so many times before.”

The words only made Hiiro feel worse about what had happened, but there was little he could do about it. What was done was done; he could no sooner deny his growing feelings for Duo than deny his own name. Given how strongly his heart had attached itself in so short a time he wasn’t so sure the changeling would heal so easily. 

“Duo?” he whispered softly while the bands around his chest tightened with the sudden presence in his arms. 

“Sorry,” he chuckled, pushing away. “This all must be a little confusing for you.”

“Of this I am certain,” Hiiro explained, pulling him back against his chest as his hand came up to brush gently along Duo’s quivering jaw while he opened his mouth and drew him inside himself with the warmth of his kiss. The sleek body beneath his hands begged for his touch, but he allowed himself only the rich feeling of letting his palm slip down the into the small of his back as he drew him closer before releasing him. 

“Hiiro,” Duo hissed tightly, wrapping him up to reclaimed his lips and though the warrior gasped and hungrily returned the kiss he managed to pull away. 

“I gave my word,” he breathed with words pleading and unresolved while Duo nodded drunkenly and backed away. “I’m sorry,” Hiiro told him, needing him to understand. “Were it not for my duties…”

“I know,” Duo smiled, shaking off the fog in his brain. “It’s probably better to stop this now anyway.”

“Wait,” Hiiro entreated. “I…”

“I should go find Wufei,” Duo smiled. “And you have a duty to fulfill.” 

Hiiro stood silently and watched him walk away, unable to find the words to convey the storm of emotions he had caused in his heart. Duo could very easily make him the happiest man alive for the rest of his life, so easily in fact that he was seriously contemplating attaching himself to him permanently, but the knowledge that no matter how long his life remained Duo would invariably be left alone simmered in his mind. His face would still be just as beautiful when Hiiro’s was dry and withered with age. His eyes would continue to sparkle when Hiiro’s had long since dimmed and winked out and his heart ached to think of the beautiful elf mourning his lost human lover for hundreds of years. He returned to the clearing with a heavy heart and found himself wondering if leaving Duo to Wufei would be kinder. He had seen the pain of loss in the changeling’s eyes and the thought of causing Duo that sort of pain was a cross he wasn’t sure he was willing to bear. 

When he stepped into view of his charge his feet stopped dead in their tracks when he saw that Trowa was lying on top of Quatre, gently kissing him. His groin tensed when images of what he had wanted so badly to do with Duo assaulted his mind and he was fully prepared to turn around and walk away when Quatre’s quiet laugh beckoned him to stay.

“You’re timing is superb,” he chuckled merrily into the disgruntled eyes of his lover. 

“Have you a time limit?” Hiiro asked, cursing his lack of knowledge about the mission at hand. 

“Soon,” Trowa replied in a tone so thick with alternate meaning it hurt Hiiro’s heart just to hear him speak. 

“We must end this before the black moon rises,” Quatre added, but his gaze was intent on Trowa’s eyes and Hiiro knew his words were only half meant for his benefit. 

“I think it’s time I knew the details of your task,” the warrior surmised. 

“Perhaps it’s time you did your job instead of spending your time seducing unwary elves,” Wufei cut in, changing from phoenix to man just before he hit the ground. 

Trowa’s gaze snapped indignantly to glare at Hiiro before Quatre drew his attention away and shook his head knowingly. His lover seemed unhappy with the fact that he had obviously been less than forthcoming with certain information, but relented with nothing more than a small sigh of resignation. 

“What is the task?” Hiiro persisted. 

“I suggest you educate him on the road,” Wufei cut in. “We have a long way to go and the pass is perilous with fallen rock.”

“Can we get through?” Quatre asked, allowing Trowa to help him to his feet. 

“I could carry you across one by one,” the changeling replied. “But the horses and this cur are on their own.”

“Let him make his own choice!” Hiiro snapped. 

“One that would leave him lying in your decrepit arms when death comes to claim you!?” Wufei spat vehemently. “You could not possibly understand what you are asking of him!”

“Stop it,” Duo commanded firmly strolling into the clearing. “Leave him alone.”

“Leave him behind,” Wufei countered. 

“I started it,” Duo sighed. “Whatever hardship comes of it is a result of my own sin, so stop blaming Hiiro.”

“Then he should have rejected you,” the changeling grumbled, but Duo only offered a quiet…

“He did,” before turning his attention to Quatre and Trowa. “It is as he claims,” he informed them. “The pass has fallen victim to many rock slides during this past winter, but I’ve found a way through.”

Quatre smiled gently with an expression that conveyed much more than his pleasure over Duo’s expert findings when he asked, “Will the horses make it through?”

“No,” Duo explained, helping to hand him up into Trowa’s arms. “But the journey is only a half day on foot after the pass. We’ll make it.”

“Was there any sign of the men who attacked us before?” Hiiro asked, but it was Quatre who answered. 

“The Maguanac’s will not attempt another extraction before our arrival.”

Trowa’s tone was as coy as his eyes when he smirked, spurred their horse forward and added, “They’re not fools.”

The claim didn’t seem to comfort Hiiro much as he turned a sharp eye on Wufei. 

“I have sworn my life,” the changeling spat, already sprouting fire orange feathers. “If there is any sign of danger from above you will hear my warning,” he promised as he took to the air. “See that you’re not so preoccupied with gazing into Duo’s eyes that you pay it no heed!”

“Will he keep his word?” Hiiro asked pulling himself into the saddle. 

“Even if it meant his life,” Duo assured him, smiling when the warrior offered his hand. 

Hiiro returned the expression when he pulled him up and joined their companions on the road. He waited until they had put some distance behind them and each was comfortable with the progression of their journey before falling back far enough that they could speak in private. 

“Our destination is the Valley of Shadows,” he commented. 

“You’re very perceptive,” Duo chuckled. “It is where we shall find the…”

“Well of Souls,” Hiiro concluded, grinning in satisfaction when Duo laughed and tightened his embrace around Hiiro’s waist. 

“I see not all the tales of old have lost the vein of truth.”

“Humans don’t really believe in them anymore.”

“That’s only because they don’t live long enough to understand,” Duo explained then fell sadly quiet for a time. 

“I understand that Quatre is no ordinary human,” Hiiro prompted. 

“He is the most gifted cognitive I have ever known. His visions are remarkably accurate.”

“He has a wise and gentle soul.”

“It has won him the loyalty and friendship of an entire race,” Duo smiled fondly while he gazed at the back of Quatre’s head. 

“Is he your leader then?” 

“No,” he snorted, but the mirth drained away before he explained. “He is our messiah.”

Hiiro took a moment to let that information soak in while his knowledge of other religions brought his next question into painfully sharp focus. 

“What is his task?” 

“He will renew the ancient contract with the demon.”

“Shinigami,” the warrior whispered uncertainly. 

“You don’t believe in the God of Death?” Duo chuckled. 

“Not until this moment,” Hiiro confessed. “But how will he reason with a demon?”

“Long ago,” Duo explained. “Before the good Queen Elandra’s insanity, Shinigami would come for our kind as readily as any humans.”

“But she bargained with the demon for immortality,” Hiiro supplied. 

“At the cost of human souls.”

“The legend claims that she gave her own in penitence, earning the elves longevity,” Hiiro went on. 

“Shinigami was satisfied,” Duo enlightened him. “His demands were met with the deliverance of not only the human souls he craved, but a multitude of elves as well. However, Elandra refused his gift in her sorrow, so he took her soul and bestowed a small amount of what she had sold it for on the remainder of her race out of sheer spite.”

“Do you resent the gift?” Hiiro asked. 

“No,” he smiled. “We cherish every decade of our lives and think of Elandra as our deliverer, but our longevity has set us apart from the rest of the world and that can sometimes be…difficult.”

“Without the contract,” Hiiro wondered while he gazed at the couple ahead of them. “What will happen to your people?”

“They will return to the way it was before The Injunction. The agreement will be nullified and Shinigami will return for us at the end of a normal lifespan.”

“Wufei,” Hiiro whispered, feeling an aching in his chest when he thought of the changeling. 

How quickly did a hundred years pass for him? How many loved ones had he buried in the past? How would he survive without the companionship of the elves? 

“Your insight serves you well,” Duo smiled holding him tight. 

“Duo!” 

They turned toward the sky in response to Wufei’s call and Hiiro shifted to allow the elf to stand on the horse’s haunch while the changeling swooped down to pluck him up. 

“We’ll join you before the pass!” Duo called back. “Do nothing till you hear from us!”

Hiiro watched until they were out of sight, feeling a great sadness seep into his skin. Of all the creatures he had ever heard tale of, the changeling had to be the most tragic of them all. His heart went out to him while his uncertainty of his right to claim Duo as his own grew stronger with each step. It was with a heavy heart gripped in confusion and pain that he was forced to listen to Trowa’s words. 

“You should abandon him,” the slender elf advised, bringing a sorrowful shadow to his lover’s eyes. “Release him before it’s too late.”

“That time is past,” Quatre sighed gently. 

“He may still be saved,” Trowa countered. 

“How?” Hiiro questioned, knowing full well he wasn’t going to like the answer. His face paled and he swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and forced stinging tears to retreat upon Trowa’s advice. 

“Make you’re rejection clear. He is not alone and those who love him will help him heal, but you must make your rejection perfectly clear.”

“Trowa,” Quatre whispered burying his face in his chest. 

“He will live,” the elf reminded him, pulling him close. “And your sacrifice will not be in vain.”

Hiiro rode silently beside them for a time while his effort to regain his center wavered under the sudden epiphany playing along the edges of his mind. 

“You have no intention of bargaining with the demon,” he finally commented. 

“We must pay his price,” Trowa replied. 

“Why him?” the warrior asked in a tone tight with frustration and pain. “Because he is human?”

“A willing sacrifice,” Quatre quietly intoned. “It all began with the deliverance of human souls.”

“And I am an elf,” Trowa added, turning Quatre’s tear stained face up to meet his gaze. “The quickening agent of an ancient accord.”

“Then why did you tell me I could save you!?” Hiiro snapped. “Why bring me along if all I could do was ruin Duo’s life and watch you die!?”

“We never asked you to save us,” Quatre quietly replied. “Only to see that the task is completed.”

“But Duo will live on,” Trowa reminded him. “How well he lives may be entirely up to you.”

Hiiro reined in and put some distance between them again as the conversation had left him ill at ease and more uncertain of his path than he had ever been, so he left them their privacy to speak whatever words were spoken between doomed hearts. He thought about Duo and what he would suffer should he pursue his feelings for him, he thought about Wufei and what he could offer and considered the demon’s demand before they were forced to stop by a large fall of rocks that barred their path. He was just considering climbing to the top to have a look around when Duo popped up from behind the topmost boulder and grinned down at them. 

“Good afternoon, gentlemen!” he smiled, waving happily and though Hiiro was most pleased to see a gleeful expression on his face he couldn’t help wondering how it had been achieved. “If you will pack a light bag and gather at the base there,” Duo instructed indicating the place, “We have secured a rope,” he explained tossing said rope into the air. 

Hiiro moved forward and caught it before it hit the ground, feeling unusually light headed when the action brought a bright smile to Duo’s lips. 

“I hope you don’t mind setting your mount free,” the elf called to him. “There is no way through by hoof!”

“He was born wild,” Hiiro replied, dismounting with the others. 

“Then you can pick him up on the way back!” 

Duo’s jovial mood was infectious and lightened the hearts of them all while they prepared to climb. The horses were set free and what goods that could be carried packed and secured and Hiiro was standing ready when Quatre came to take the rope, but Duo called from the summit. 

“Stand away! It’ll be a quick trip to the top!”

Trowa and Hiiro did as they were told standing away while Quatre wrapped his wrist firmly, signaled his readiness and was suddenly rocketing upward. Trowa was next and then Hiiro, who smiled in appreciation when his suspicions of a counterweight were confirmed. Wufei was waiting at the bottom of the next drop, unfastening the rope from the last of the weights then catching them one by one when they descended. Duo was last and was born to the top of the next boulder on flaming wings and the whole exercise began again. It took nearly seven hours to make their way through the pass leaving them all exhausted and more than ready for a night’s rest. More than once Hiiro had tossed a scornful glance at the changeling in reprimand for forcing them to work so hard but he was utterly unrepentant in his decision to make sure Hiiro, the only normal human in the company, never touched him. 

Wufei and Duo had already chosen a site for their camp and supplied it with firewood that Wufei easily set aflame. Fish rolls were heated, sweet bread toasted in the flames and sweet elderberry wine shared in celebration of the joining of Quatre and Trowa’s hearts before the couple retired to a small cave Duo had reserved for their use alone. 

“Did you find the Tedderwood?” Duo asked their Chinese companion once the couple disappeared. 

“Two pounds of it,” Wufei chuckled deviously. 

“They may not live till tomorrow,” the elf laughed, tossing a fishbone at him. 

“What is Tedderwood?” Hiiro inquired. 

“A herb that secretes an aphrodisiac aroma,” Duo grinned. 

“They hardly seem to need any stimulation,” Hiiro chuckled. 

“It is their last night together,” Wufei solemnly intoned. “Duo made sure it would be wonderful.”

“There’s more?” the warrior smiled. 

“It took two hours to find the nest of firelights that will light the cavern walls tonight,” Duo smiled. 

“And I have been saving the Merlian oil for…some years,” Wufei added evasively. 

Hiiro thought about it, but couldn’t recall having ever heard of it before. 

“The oil is extracted from the new born buds of the Merlian flower. There are only two fields of the bloom that exist and no more than a drop of oil in each one.”

“They only bloom every seven years,” Wufei added. “It took me some time to gather enough to be of any use.”

“And you gave it to them?” Hiiro wondered. “Without regret?”

“I would take their place right now if I could,” the changeling assured him. “But I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” he grumbled, rising to his feet while he added, “Life is for those who live,” before shifting into a black wolf and disappearing into the dark. 

“I think he likes you,” Duo chuckled. 

“If that is affection,” Hiiro snorted, “Remind me never to piss him off.”

“He’s not so bad once you get to know him,” Duo smiled, taking a long draw from his glass of wine. 

“I dare not anticipate his friendship when I have apparently stolen the heart of his lover,” Hiiro commented, rising up in alarm when Duo choked and spit wine across the fire. 

“Lover!?” he laughed while tears swelled in his eyes and his hand gripped Hiiro’s forearm to steady himself while he sucked for air. “What do you take me for?” he rasped in high amusement. 

“He…I thought…”

“He’s a completely different species!” Duo chortled, swallowing some more wine to clear his throat. “Neither elf nor human. Hell, I don’t think _he_ even remembers what his true form is. Don’t be absurd.”

“Then you…” Hiiro began feeling oddly elated by the news. 

“Hiiro,” Duo smiled inching closer. “I am to my kin no older than you are to yours,” he told him and Hiiro swallowed and wet his lips in anticipation when he drew nearer and the thrill steadily grew in his stomach lurching up to wash through his chest when Duo smiled and confessed, “I have never known a lover.”

“But he seems so…” Hiiro began again, but Duo’s mouth was so close he was having trouble organizing his thoughts. 

“He loves me,” he smiled temptingly, shifting his body closer while he added, “He is my…best friend.”

“I would like to be his friend.”

“That would be nice,” Duo breathed softly along his lips. 

“Duo?”

“Hm?”

“If you value your virtue I would advise a retreat.”

Duo’s mouth curled playfully while he pressed his body more firmly to Hiiro’s side and inquired, “And…if not?”

Hiiro snatched him up, spun him around and laid him on the bedding beneath him all in one, smooth motion that left him bright eyed and breathless while he smiled down on him and replied, “Then I shall take it for my own.”

Duo returned the expression, wrapping his long arms around the warrior’s neck while he opened his mouth, his body and his heart. There was a time when Hiiro wondered about the couple in the cave and the depth of feeling they must have shared to commit so utterly to each other, but he knew as he joined with the beautiful elf that no matter where he was or what came to pass he would forever be connected to him. He would carry a piece of him in his heart always and understood that Duo felt the same while he cherished him that night. Before dawn they had formed a union unbreakable by time, a bond forged of irrevocable truths and softly spoken declarations of love. So sweet had the reckoning been accomplished that the sun’s first rays seemed harsh and unwelcome as they brought with them the inescapable reality that their companions would not see another night. 

“Duo?” Hiiro spoke softly while he held the sated elf warmly against his naked chest. 

“Hm?” Duo sighed. 

“When I die,” the warrior began wistfully, but Duo lifted up and touched his fingers to his lips. 

“Let’s dwell on the living for the moment,” he smiled, kissing him gently, but Hiiro was intent on speaking his mind. 

“Live happily,” he told him. “I don’t want you to die with me,” he said softly cupping his lover’s face. “I want to leave this world knowing you will live a long, happy life.”

Duo smiled quietly, lying his head down on Hiiro’s chest before he asked, “Would your life be happy if I were suddenly gone?”

“You could still find another.”

“There is no other,” he grumbled. 

“But you can’t know that,” Hiiro countered. 

“Where is this coming from?” Duo suddenly asked, pushing away from him. 

“You’ll outlive me by a few hundred years,” he reminded him. “I can’t stand the thought of taking that away from you.”

“You should have thought of that before,” Duo snipped, pulling on his tunic. 

“You said it was already too late!” Hiiro reminded him anxiously. 

“I was prepared to accept your loss,” Duo told him, jerking his pants on as he spoke. “Even though I knew I’d never get you out of my heart, but then you came to me! If you weren’t serious, then you shouldn’t have claimed what you didn’t intend to keep!”

“Duo…I…” 

“Good morning,” Wufei smiled, stepping from behind a tree. 

“Fuck you,” Duo snapped, widening the changeling’s grin ten fold. “Have you scouted the trail ahead?” he demanded, hastily gathering his things. 

“Hai,” Wufei nodded, tossing a most satisfied glance Hiiro’s way. “Though it would have been easier if you had been available to help.”

“How about you shove it sideways and we just get on with it?” Duo growled. 

“Isn’t that why you were unavailUFF!” the changeling huffed, doubling over when Duo slammed him in the stomach with a bundle of gear as he passed, but his grin remained intact while he limped off after his departing friend and smiled at the dumbfounded Hiiro. 

“Your rejection should have been clear,” Trowa’s soft tone interjected into the mire that had overtaken the warrior’s brain. 

Hiiro turned to find him standing quietly nearby looking oddly incomplete without Quatre by his side. “It would be a lie,” he reasoned. 

“Do you know why Quatre cries?” Trowa asked, moving forward while Hiiro pondered the question. There were many obvious answers, but he knew the elf was digging for something deeper. “He cries for me.”

“Then why won’t you give him what he wants?” 

“Because it doesn’t exist.” 

Hiiro started to argue the point, but then stopped to consider the statement. 

“There is no life without him,” Trowa clarified. “When he dies, a part of me dies with him. That is inevitable. What you have given Duo is an even exchange. He is a part of you now. There is no restitution.”

His words rang true and settled in Hiiro’s chest next to the pain that had already rooted itself to his soul. What misery did he endure on his quest? For how long had he loved the kind hearted blond and how could Hiiro face a lifetime of knowing he would eventually break his lover’s heart? Quatre emerged before he found anything to say and gently urged them onward. Hiiro was aware that he had to have heard their conversation, but he said nothing only staying close to Trowa as was their way. Duo and Wufei joined them before the noon sun crested overhead, signaling their eminent arrival in the Valley of Shadows. 

Though the road turned bad and their way was barred by a murky mire they continued steadily into the depths of the valley. The noxious fumes usually made anyone traveling this way think twice about descending the slopes, but Quatre appeared unimpressed by the valley’s natural defenses while he led them deeper still, past the rocky crags and into the heart of the mountain. Soon the barren terrain shifted, the light returned and a gentle breeze swept the dense, foul smelling fog away to reveal a lush garden spread out before them. 

“Elision,” Duo breathed reverently while they passed into the garden. 

Hiiro shifted uneasily while his hand quietly drew his sword when he felt their enemy’s presence. 

"We are not alone," he quietly informed his companions. 

The attack came swiftly and made it clear that the first attempt had been a recon assault to judge the skill of the enemy as the men they now faced displayed a superior fighting skill that taxed the warrior as their numbers increased. It wasn’t long before Duo, Wufei and Hiiro were out numbered and flailing for victory as their reluctance to kill Quatre’s honor guard gave them a disadvantage that was quickly loosing the battle until Trowa and Quatre joined in and the presence of the blond dampened the spirits of the Maguanac’s as none of them seemed to have the heart to truly fight against him. 

Hiiro’s mind clouded with memories that were not entirely his own. Visions of the young blond cutting down his foes in the garden in his dreams overlapping the reality of seeing it happen in real time. Quatre disabled one after another, leaving his friends lying helpless on the ground as he made his way closer to the fountain that sprang from the ground in the center of the garden. The Life Spring. The center of all creation and what the people of Earth believed to be the doorway to the afterlife. To drink from the spring might bring good health and long life, or it might drain it away depending upon the will of the gods. Hiiro suddenly understood why they came when he saw Quatre take down the last man barring his path to the spring. 

“Quatre!” he called, causing him to pause and glance back at him and Trowa suddenly appeared by his side while they prepared to race for the spring, but their way was suddenly barred by the mammoth form of the man Hiiro had seen as the final obstacle in the dreams. 

“He will not die here!” the big man roared in a voice as deep as the sea. 

“Stand down, Rashid!” Quatre shouted. 

“You know I can’t do that,” Rashid replied determinedly.

Quatre was prepared to say more, but never got the chance when Trowa launched an attack and his blow rocked the huge man, but was inadequate to defeat him. Hiiro watched in horror while Rashid landed a brutal blow to the tall elf’s head and the sickening sound of cracking bone resounding in the air and blood burst from his face as Hiiro’s feet carried him forward too late to save the him from hitting the ground. 

“TROWA!” Quatre roared with his fists clenched tightly while his entire body shook with rage before he attacked. 

After the blow landed, separating Rashid from his conscious mind, Quatre’s feet turned so quickly toward Trowa he didn’t notice Hiiro walking toward the spring until Duo cried out. 

“Hiiro! Don’t!”

The warrior paused only long enough to offer his lover a sorrowful glance before stepping into the spring. 

“HIIRO!” 

But Duo was too late to save him and Wufei was there to hold him tight before he could join him in the spray. 

He wept when Hiiro turned to smile sadly letting his sword fall to the ground while darkness rose at his feet. 

“I’m sorry,” he told the beautiful elf. “But I gave my word to protect him.”

“And what about me!” Duo cried angrily. “What of the promises you made to me!?!”

“I will love you,” Hiiro repeated his vow. “Always.”

“You’ll be dead!” Duo snapped lunging for him, but Wufei held him back. 

“Death will not change how I feel,” Hiiro smiled, then repeated. “I will love you…always.”

“Hiiro,” Duo sobbed clinging to his changeling friend, but his tears slowed instantly when the darkness that had been enveloping his lover began to recede. “Hiiro!?” he gasped pushing Wufei aside to step closer.

Hiiro stood quietly clearly uncertain about what was happening while his eyes turned to where Quatre was helping the injured Trowa to his feet. 

“Step away,” Quatre told him waiting until Hiiro had stepped out of the water to inform him, “You have fulfilled your promise.”

“I don’t understand,” the warrior replied. 

“We are alive,” Quatre smiled. 

“And the demon is satisfied,” Wufei added smugly. 

“The contract?” Hiiro inquired. 

“You would have given your life willingly to spare us,” Trowa explained. 

“A willing sacrifice,” Quatre added, tucking under his lover’s arm. 

“But it didn’t take me,” Hiiro reasoned, looking back at the fountain. 

“Maybe you’re not his type,” Duo smiled, going to his side. 

Hiiro accepted him fluently, openly and warmly kissing him as he melted into his arms. 

“Look,” Wufei interrupted, ignoring the roll of Duo’s eyes when he reached in between them. 

“Fei,” the elf groaned impatiently. 

“Shut up and look,” he grumbled, pulling Duo’s cross from beneath Hiiro’s shirt. 

“You were wearing it?” Duo smiled. 

“It’s all I had,” Hiiro confessed. 

“Wear it always,” Quatre advised, going to where Rashid was getting dazedly to his feet. “Its enchantment will grant you many years of happiness.”

“How many years?” Duo asked watching them slowly walk away, but Quatre did nothing more than grin over his shoulder. “Hey!” he called anxiously. “How many years!?”

“Duo,” Hiiro laughed. 

“What in the hell was that supposed to mean?”

“I think it means you’re lover boy might be around for a while,” Wufei chuckled and the sound seamlessly turned into a low growl when he shifted into tiger form. 

“And you’re okay with that?” Hiiro grinned. 

“It was your absence I protested from the start,” Wufei reminded him. “I see nothing about your continued presence that will make him unhappy,” he smiled while Duo grinned and kissed Hiiro’s cheek so hard the warrior almost lost his footing. 

“Where did they go?” Hiiro wondered noticing that Quatre, Trowa and all of the Maguanac’s had vanished. 

“Quatre will return to his home for a time,” Duo explained. “He has been away too long.”

“What will they do?” Hiiro wondered. “How will Trowa cope now?”

“Quatre is no ordinary human,” Duo smiled. “He is, as of now, well over two hundred years old.”

“Then why…?” Hiiro exclaimed. 

“Because it was his duty,” Duo explained. “And Trowa could not live without him.”

“You would have followed me,” Hiiro smiled, nuzzling Duo’s cheek. 

“To hell and back,” he smiled, shifting to make his mouth unavoidable. 

“I believe you were better company before sacrificing your virtue to this man,” Wufei sighed shifting again. 

“I sacrificed nothing,” Duo countered. 

“Whatever,” Wufei gnarled through five inch fangs. “Just get on before I end up with a cavity.”

Duo laughed, allowing the great, black dragon to help him and his lover aboard. “You know, if you had chosen a blue there were be space to sleep up here,” the elf commented, settling himself in front of Hiiro on Wufei’s neck. 

“I think not,” the dragon growled, flapping his huge, leather wings as they rose into the air. “There’s no way you two are mating on my back.”

“Mating?” Hiiro snorted. 

“Think of it!” Duo grinned. “The wind and the sky…”

“No!” Wufei snapped rising higher. 

“Just how wide is a blue’s back?” Hiiro smirked. 

“Forget it,” Wufei grumbled. 

“As wide as a man’s bunk,” Duo smiled. “With ridges on either side of the spine. Most convenient.”

“I said noooo,” the dragon sang. 

“Sounds like it would make this sort of thing much easier,” Hiiro commented and Wufei suddenly tumbled to the left when Duo groaned. 

“What are you doing up there!?” the dragon snapped while they roared with laugher. 

“Nothing,” Duo chortled. 

“Yet,” Hiiro added. 

“We’ll see what mischief you can create on the back of a sparrow!”

“Don’t stop,” the elf sighed. 

“Duo?” Wufei gasped, but was answered only by the sound of his softly calling Hiiro’s name. “Duo! Don’t you dare! I mean it! I’ll dump you both in the river!” 

“Nnn….”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy watching us before,” Hiiro said softly while Duo’s soft groaning tantalized the air. 

“Your mating habits are interesting at best,” the dragon sniffed, but his head turned slightly when Duo suddenly gasped out loud. 

“This would be much easier with more room,” Hiiro commented while he nibbled on Duo’s neck and ear. 

Wufei sighed, going so far as to spit small flames out of his nose before grousing under his breath, “This could get very weird,” as his wings slowly bled from black to blue.

owari :)

**Author's Note:**

> Write it, draw it, create it, sing it, SHARE IT. ~ Sunhawk 2019


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